A Certain Kind of Allure
by Scorpio219
Summary: "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."- George Moore


A Certain Kind of Allure

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A Certain Kind of Allure: Chapter 1

"_A __man__ travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it__."_

_George Moore_

Monday 14th May 2007

To say he was apprehensive was an understatement for the third time in as many minutes the blond straightened his tie.

"Honestly Draco you look perfect, if you straighten your tie one more time you will end up leaving it looking like a noose." Narcissa Malfoy, his mother abolished.

"Perhaps I am in need of one, what made me accept this job proposal?" Though he posed it as a question he didn't expect his mother to answer and her smirk showed she had no intention to remind him of his innate desire to come back from travelling.

Satisfied his mother had no immediate plan to make one of her comments he turned his attention to the parchment in front of him. He'd received the letter by Ministry Owl during his stay in the Lazio province of Italy two weeks ago. The neat handwriting had simply offered him the position of Assistant Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry, followed by a date, time and the location he was to attend for further information and was simply signed by the head of the Auror Office Harry Potter. His mother had informed him that the head of the department of magical law enforcement, a gentleman by the name Harold Garlic had been temporarily put in charge, a temporary placement that had lasted the last eleven months. Clearly the ministry had decided to give him an assistant head of department because he wasn't getting much younger, and the portly stomach wouldn't be helping him to keep up with the younger Auror's and Hit Wizards.

While Draco agreed he had wanted to come back to some semblance of a normal life in Britain he was still a tad bit unsure about actually taking the job offer. He knew that not everyone would welcome a Malfoy working within the Ministry, especially one that hadn't climbed the ladder per say. And to add the cherry to the cake it would require him to put up with the likes of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in his immediate vicinity. Though he had to admit the former wasn't so much a problem they had previously let bygones be exactly that- bygones. However the latter was and would remain as far as he was concerned an idiot for many reasons the blond did not want to dwell on, lest he bring up emotions from what felt like eons ago.

The sound of his mother clearing her throat brought him out of his reverie, "If you do not leave soon you are going to be late Draco" Draco glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room noticing that his mother was right it was nearing twenty to nine and he was due at the Ministry for this meeting at precisely nine o'clock. He nodded his head in assent as he stood from his seat at the table, and as he tucked the chair neatly under the table he heard his mother's voice again, "I am glad you are back".

"I am to Mother, I may not say it often, but I do love you" he smiled a rare smile before picking up the parchment from the table, "I will come back after I am finished, remember no partaking in any strenuous activities."

Narcissa simply waved him off, in an action not too dissimilar to a shooing motion, and watched as her only child walked purposefully out of the breakfast room.

-DMNM-

Having travelled via the Manor's hearth to the Leaky Cauldron, Draco stepped out onto Charring Cross Road; patting his inside pocket to double check the letter was still there and hadn't been somehow lost in the transit. The short walk through Muggle London did wonders to calm down Draco's nerves, though the sensation was short lived as he spied the abandoned phone box around the corner from where he was. Steeling his jitters he stepped inside the box, picking up the receiver before pressing the numbers on the keypad that would prevent him from going back '62442', and within seconds he was descending underground.

The Ministry of Magic had always greatly intrigued Draco, how could a building of this magnitude stay so well hidden underground. The entrance foyer was always lined with crowds of people, from all over the world, how could some unsuspecting Muggle not have wondered why so many people seemed to disappear down the short road near Great Scotland Yard. Though, as Draco conceded, this particular area of London was in fact a largely populated, affluent area of business, full of people who were probably too busy to notice a man in a Wizarding robe shuffling down the side road, probably ignoring the thought as a figment of their imagination caused by a lack of caffeine in their system.

Without much of a thought process, Draco courteously made his way through the throngs of people towards one of the many enchanted lifts dotted about the large expanse of a foyer managing to force his way into one grabbing the leather strappings overhead seconds before the lift lurched and began its dramatic descent to the abyss of the Ministry's lower floors. Luckily for Draco the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was situated on the floor below the foyer, thus minimising the nauseating journey to just a few daunting seconds before the lift came to an abrupt halt, allowing Draco and a single queasy rider to alight at their destination.

Shaking his head Draco walked forward towards the blonde receptionist, "Excuse me, I got sent this letter" he removed the parchment from the inside of his jacket passing it to the young girl "Asking for me to come here"

She smiled brightly up at him as she quickly scanned the letter before passing it back to him, scribbling something down onto an different piece of parchment "Yes Mr Malfoy, if you pop down the corridor it's the eighth door on your left, practically at the end of the corridor" once she was finished speaking she waved her wand over the message she wrote down and Draco watched as the parchment folded and majestically floated off down the corridor she was sending him down.

Assuming that it was a simple missive to inform the head of department that he was here he began his leisurely journey down the corridor, feeling the eyes of the department's workforce on him as he passed along, reminding him of a memory from long ago.

_Gone was the confident swagger of the Draco Malfoy that everyone else seemed to know, in his place stood this man, a boy who had been hardened by the hardships of war, who was subjected to ridicule in the streets, and it seemed the eyes of the parents who stared at him in the streets had matching accomplices in the faces of the children heading back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

_He could feel them all, every single one of them staring at him, as if they were seeing nearly headless Nick removing his head for the first time._

_He could see his sanctuary just up ahead, his destination, sure he had to share the confined space with someone else, but logic would assume that if that person was bright enough to get the Head Girl position to his Head Boy then they would be above such a perverse attitude as to look down on him like the others- well that's what he hoped would happen anyway._

And that was the same feeling Draco felt emanating from his person right now as he focused on the name plate, or rather initial plate of the eighth door on the left hand side, "H.G" Just like he'd managed to do all those years ago, he hadn't sneered as people pulled faces at him, or spoke out of turn about him, he had simply kept on walking and got to his destination. Still concentrating on the plaque on the door he lifted his hand to knock, before he reached for the door handle, which magically opened on its own accord to reveal the rooms occupants to him.

"_You?" was his immediate response to seeing who was inside the train's Head compartment; the other person simply lifted their head from the book they were writing notes about. Nodding their head once and signalling for him to take a seat at the opposite side of the table._

"Mr Malfoy, so good of you to join us" Draco suddenly had a foreboding sense of déjà vu.

-DMDM-

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A/N: Please leave your comments good or bad in a review. And I hope you enjoyed it.


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